How a young, first-time coach turned Kingman into a Kansas high school football power
Call it blind optimism of a first-time head coach, but Tanner Hageman believed back in 2019 when he was hired that the Kingman football program could win big in the Kansas high school state playoffs.
Hageman, 32, took over a program that won one playoff game in 15 years before his tenure. He has led Kingman to its deepest playoff run in 49 years and a second straight trip to the Class 2A semifinals this Friday.
The Eagles (11-0) have already notched the most wins in a season in school history and look to return to a state championship game for the first time since 1972 with a home victory on Friday against fellow unbeaten Southeast of Saline (11-0).
“When you go from being an assistant to taking on a program yourself, you always think you’re up for the job and you can have an impact on a program,” said Hageman, who has a 30-11 record in his first four years at Kingman. “The goal was always to be at this point, but I’m not sure if you would have told me four years ago we would already be here this quickly that I would have believed you. A lot of things have fallen in place to make this happen.”
Hageman, who grew up a three-sport standout athlete in Cheney, credits his father, who coached him in all youth sports, for teaching him the importance of fundamentals, something he has carried with him in his first stint as a head coach. During his high school days at Cheney, Hageman was a sponge while playing under basketball coach Stan Dohm.
But Hageman developed the most as a football coach during his four-year stint as an assistant coach at St. James Academy, where he was tutored and mentored by head coach Tom Radke. Hageman’s experience at St. James, a perennial state power, was a key reason why Kingman felt comfortable hiring him as a head coach before he even turned 30.
“Those are three guys who I not only try to model my coaching after, but I want to be like them in terms of being a great teacher, a great husband and a great father,” Hageman said. “Those are my role models.”
Kingman has always had the necessary talent, Hageman said, but lacked the year-round discipline required to be a winning football program. When he arrived in 2019, he saw immediate buy-in from players who began committing to the weight room and the practice field during the summers.
After a 3-6 season in Hageman’s first year, Kingman has improved rapidly: 6-3 in 2020, 10-2 in 2021 and 11-0, currently, in 2022.
For that, Hageman credits the leadership of this year’s senior class, the first four-year class he has had in the program. Kingman’s seniors include star quarterback Nolan Freund, star linebacker Ty Birkenbaugh, standout two-way starters in Avrey Albright, Adrian Ontiveros, Jake Fischer and Bly Keimig and four-year player Dalton Leis.
“I’m not ready to be done with these guys, there’s no doubt about that,” Hageman said. “I think they won maybe one game on JV their freshman year. Then a lot of them started for me as sophomores and had some growing pains, and then they made that jump last year and now we’re here. It’s just a really good group of kids who are obviously very talented and they’re just a fun group to be around.”
With big-play threats like Freund, Albright and Fischer, the offense makes a lot of the flashy plays, but Kingman’s defense is the reason why the Eagles are undefeated and playing late into November again.
No team has scored more than one touchdown against Kingman since the opening week of the season and the Eagles are allowing just 5.0 points per game, including 19 total points in three playoff victories.
Junior Carter Helm leads Class 2A with 10 interceptions this season, while junior defensive lineman Tristen Davidson was a unanimous first team all-league player on both sides of the ball. Sophomore linebacker Collin Schreiner and defensive lineman Brody Bell have also been key contributors.
The biggest challenge for Kingman’s defense awaits on Friday, as undefeated and No. 1-ranked Southeast of Saline comes to town.
While Kingman doesn’t have the track record of Southeast of Saline when it comes to recent playoff success, the Eagles believe this year’s team can be the one to rewrite that history.
“Southeast of Saline is No. 1 for a reason and we know how talented they are, but the biggest thing for us is we don’t want our kids to be intimidated by them,” Hageman said. “We don’t want to be intimidated by their record or their stats or their talented players because we have some really talented guys on our side, too. We’re going to need some breaks, there’s no doubt, because those guys won’t hurt themselves, but if we play our game and play disciplined like we have all year, then it should be a great battle between two great teams.”
Kansas high school football playoff semifinal schedule
Class 6A semifinals
Derby (9-2) at Manhattan (11-0)
Olathe Northwest (8-3) at Gardner-Edgerton (8-3)
Class 5A semifinals
Hays (10-1) at Maize (11-0)
Blue Valley Southwest (6-5) at Mill Valley (10-1)
Class 4A semifinals
McPherson (10-1) at Wamego (11-0)
St. Thomas Aquinas (9-2) at Bishop Miege (9-2)
Class 3A semifinals
Clay Center (8-3) at Andale (11-0)
Topeka Hayden (10-1) at Holton (10-1)
Class 2A semifinals
Southeast of Saline (11-0) at Kingman (11-0)
Sabetha (9-2) at Nemaha Central (11-0)
Class 1A semifinals
Inman (10-1) at Conway Springs (8-3)
Centralia (11-0) at St. Marys (11-0)
8-man Division 1 semifinals
Little River (10-1) at Burlingame (10-1)
Wichita County (11-0) at Hill City (10-1)
8-man Division 2 semifinals
Canton-Galva (11-0) at Axtell (11-0)
Dighton (11-0) at Thunder Ridge (10-1)
6-man semifinals
Cunningham (11-0) at Waverly (11-0)
Cheylin (10-1) at Ashland (9-1)
This story was originally published November 16, 2022 at 6:00 AM.
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